George and Josh Bate
Musical biopics have a been a constant in Hollywood for decades now, but appear more regularly than ever in recent years. The success of 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody was an example to studios that an audience’s affection for a real-life public figure can lead to substantial box office revenue, as the Rami Malek-led film grossed over $900 million at the worldwide box office. The latest of films in this subgenre, if it can be labeled as such, is Bob Marley: One Love, which opts against telling the whole life story of the real-life musician.
Instead, One Love hones in on a period of Marley’s life after he fled his native Jamaica, in an assassination attempt shown at the very beginning of the film, becoming exiled away from his home and isolated in the process. It’s not the most notable time for Marley, who became one of the best selling artists of all time in the 1970s as he rose to international fame, but little of that is depicted here. Rather, One Love attempts to allow the audience to have a sneak peek into the complex life of history’s greatest reggae musician, but the story becomes dull and uneventful in the process.
One Love is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green from a script he cowrote alongside Terence Winter, Frank E. Flowers, Zach Baylon. It’s a mix of screenwriters, and the film certainly reflects that as the story becomes muddled, confused, and often tripping over itself. All the while, One Love can’t even be described as particularly entertaining, as one can’t shake the feeling that the film is glossing over some of the most interesting parts of Marley’s life. His rise to fame is almost entirely glossed over, for example, and the film relies on the audience knowing global superstar and holding him in a high regard as the creative team does.
That’s not to say that there aren’t positive aspects to this film. One Love is, fittingly, clearly made with a lot of love for Bob Marley, both as a human being and his legacy that continues to live on to this day. Those feelings are reflected in Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami) for example, as the English actor clearly put in a substantial amount of behind the scenes work in order to ensure that his portrayal is as authentic as possible. That Marley’s children, Ziggy and Cedella, along with his wife, Rita, are producers on this film is a clear indicator that director Green is approaching One Love with a tender touch and care, eager to do right by the late Marley and honor the legacy he left behind.
Part of the attempts to make One Love an authentic and personal look at Marley is the story’s focus on topics that were clearly very important to him, such as the political scene in his home country. His attempts to heal the wounds of a post-colonial nation are shown, and Marley goes back to Jamaica in this film after surviving the previously mentioned assassination attempt. The film also examines Marley’s Rastafari religious and spiritual beliefs, which heavily influenced his interest in Jamaica’s politics and the broader themes of his music as well. The exploration of what inspired Marley to focus on peace, love, and care for others in his music is an interesting concept to dive into, but one that the film doesn’t go deep enough in.
That in itself is a broader theme in One Love, as the film struggles to move beyond the surface level. It appears that much of the reason why Green and co. opted to focus on two years of Marley’s time in the 70s rather than his entire life was down to a desire to get as close to the musician as possible. The attempts to make One Love a peek behind the curtain at the life of one of the most famous men in the 20th century are admirable, but fall frustratingly short. And while the focus on Marley organizing a concert during a tense and uncertain election year in Jamaica is interesting, the film doesn’t go into the why enough. Marley’s religion is provided as reason, and while that maintains a consistent focus in the story, and the theme of love and peace heartwarmingly permeates everything throughout the film, it isn’t enough to justify skipping over the rest of his life.
Despite that, a highlight of One Love is Ben-Adir’s performance as the musician. In a true story such as this, there’s a fine line between capturing the essence of the real person and simply performing an imitation. Many critics of Bohemian Rhapsody cited Rami Malek’s performance as a prime example of a surface level imitation of Freddie Mercury rather than anything more substantial. Regardless of one’s own opinions on that topic, Ben-Adir clearly moves beyond the iconic hair and voice that Marley was in part known for. The actor embodies Marley on a deeper level than that, capturing what he was like as a person and helping to drag an often lacking script into something more serviceable.
Bob Marley: One Love flips the script on what many think of as a traditional biopic, taking the trendy and modern route of a more intimate glimpse at its title character. That closer look often feels much blurrier than it should, and the attempts to make this a unique film pushes it towards a dull experience throughout. Ultimately, Bob Marley: One Love is a relatively unremarkable, forgettable story of an unforgettable real-life musician, made watchable only the performance of its lead actor.
